Richard Satchwell told people at car boot sales that Tina had developed illness & gone to sister's in UK, court hears

The Irish Sun

08-05-2025

RICHARD Satchwell told a number of people at car boot sales in the weeks after he reported his wife Tina missing that she had developed a respiratory illness.
He also told them that Tina had gone to England to stay with her sister, a court has heard.
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Richard Satchwell told a number of people his wife had gone to England to stay with her sister after he reported Tina missing
Credit: John Delea - The Sun Dublin
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Richard went to a number of car boot sales looking to sell some of Tina's items in 2017
The 58-year-old attended events in
He said they had moved into a house which had been vacated for 12 years and the mould in the property had left his wife with a serious illness.
The trial has already heard that Satchwell told
Today Gerard Carey told the Central Criminal
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He said: 'Richard was at his stall. Asked him had Tina gone walkabout? He said, 'No, she's not here today. She had got very ill and had gone to her sister in England.''
Asked by prosecutor Gerardine Small SC, did he mention anything specific about her prognosis, and he replied: 'He said she wouldn't be at car boot sales anymore.'
In cross-examination, he agreed that he actually said in his statement that 'Tina wouldn't be the same again'.
Julie Crowley told the court that she attended car boot sales with her mother, and in late 2016 she remembers encountering a lady at the one in Doneraile.
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She said: 'I passed by a stall where there was a car. Laid out in front of it was various clothes and bags.
'There was a woman sitting in the passenger seat who I now know was Tina Satchwell. There was also a man there, didn't know who they were at the time.
'At the time I was wearing Dr Martens. She admired them and asked me where I bought them and I said Schuh in Cork. She was wearing sunglasses and had her hair tied back.
'There was a blanket on the ground with clothes and bags laid out. I bought a waistcoat, just second hand things.'
SELLING ITEMS
Ms Crowley said she remembers attending another car boot sale in Blarney on Easter Monday, 2017.
She told the jury: 'There was a stall set up. I recognised the man and I approached him. He was selling Dr Martens boots, maybe about six pairs. They must have been his wife's shoes.
'My mother had a conversation with him as I was trying on shoes.
'My mother asked him how his wife was?
'He said that she had developed a serious respiratory infection and the house needed structural work and required approval from the health board.
'SERIOUSLY SICK' CLAIM
'The doctor told her she had come just in time and could have been seriously sick.
'He said they were raising money for work that had to be done to the house. The mould and conditions were causing the respiratory illness.
'Mum asked did she know he was selling her stuff and he said she told me to sell them because they were trying to raise money for the work on the house.
'I bought black knee high Dr Martens boots and paid €70.'
Ms Crowley said she met Satchwell again at a car boot sale in Blarney on May 1 and he was again selling boots.
QUESTIONS ABOUT TINA
She said: 'I tried on a different pair, they were tan coloured, in good condition. He said they were only worn once and I paid €30. Mum asked him how his wife was?
'He continued with the same story about the respiratory illness and she was recovering. He said they were trying to raise money for the house. It was the same story he had told before.'
Her mother Mary Crowley told the court she remembered meeting Satchwell at the Blarney car boot sale on April 17, 2017.
She said: I don't remember how the conversation started, but said they had moved into a house that no one had lived in for 12 years and she had got a respiratory illness.
'I asked him what will the wife think when she comes back and sees you selling her stuff and he said she told me to sell them because they needed the money to make repairs to the house.
'He said she was immuno-compromised prior to that.'
DONEDEAL ADVERT
He also told Mary Crowley the same story when they met in Blarney again on May 1.
Garda Ciaran Crowley told the court that he made enquiries with DoneDeal in August, 2017 about an advert that Richard Satchwell posted on the website on March 27, 2017.
The ad read: 'Large chest freezer. Free to take away, just needs cleaning.
'Giving away because I need the space.'
The trial has previously heard that following the discovery of Tina Satchwell's remains in their home in Youghal in October, 2023, that the accused told Gardai he had put her body in a chest freezer for a number of days before removing it, covering it in black sheeting and putting in a grave under their stairs with a concrete block on top.
INTERVIEW FOOTAGE
The jury have started watching a video of a Garda interview with Satchwell, which was conducted on the day he was arrested on October 10, 2023.
This was the day investigators arrived at their home to conduct an 'invasive' search of the property that resulted in Tina's body being discovered on October 11, 2023.
Satchwell has pleaded not guilty to murdering Tina, 45, at 3 Grattan Street, Youghal on a date between March 19 and 20, 2017.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven women and five men.